Bangladesh in the West Indies: Match grades, First Test versus West Indies, No curve.

Sohel N. Rahman

Being
a Bangladeshi still savoring a long awaited delight, Iâ€™m as emotionally moved
as the other guy, but tried not to get carried away here. No slack, no curve,
and the bar set as high as it should be for a Test playing nation.

Tamim
Iqbal:Managed
to turn a corner in the second innings, and positively impact the outcome
of the match with his maiden Test hundred. As colossal as that particular
feat was, not being sarcastic here, it was streaky. With two lives and
at least twice the number of half-lives in edges, barely missed edges, and
the occasional wild swing out of the blue, Lady Luck was with him BIG
TIME. Quality matters and the only reason he gets a B+ and not a B,
is because of the character and grit he
showed through it all. Easily the most talented LHB Bangladesh have
produced to open their innings, he did something positive with those
breaks unlike many in the fraternity of Bangladeshi players ... B+

Imrul Kayes: Looked great before falling to yet another A.
Shocka classic in the first innings. The
technically compact young opener didn't do as well as expected in the
second, but did wear-out the new ball and made it easier for Junaid
Siddique to survive the shoddy technique we find ourselves seriously
alarmed about Â ... B-

Junaid Siddique:Was patient in the second innings and made
important runs in spite of those bad habits we know too well. The
dashing young left hander committed to his front foot early but not as much
as usual, showing a patience yet to be matched by his issues. He needs to
visibly rectify those ASAP before others challenge him with sustainable
success. Until and unless he does just that, he will continue to
disappoint his fans, including this one, and fail to go
beyond the 70s on to a maiden hundred of his own ... B

Raqibul Hasan: Is still technically more
sound than genuinely scary players like Rajin Saleh and Tushar Imran in
the past, but continued to make his nick "Da Rock" seem euphoric at best, and
ridiculous at worst. Once again he did not stick to what he knows best
and put his team on the back foot in the process. Maybe this
hardworking young man is a couple of years in the A Team away from
becoming the "anchor" his adulators fantasized him to be. He
should be benched before hurting himself too much, but I'm not sure if
Mehrab Hossain Jr., his probable replacement under those unlikely
circumstances, is capable of doing any better over a stretch. Instead, we
are more than likely to see him ride the coattails other peopleâ€™s success
in the name of a â€œwinning combinationâ€. If Nafis Iqbal or Aftab Ahmed
perform well in the near future, and demonstrate the ability to learn from
their illustrious underachievement, they can replace him for good due to
better talent, application and experience at this level. Big
"ifs" but not as big as some ... F

Mohammad Ashraful: Hit a spiraling new low, even by his own
stellar standards. The once-iconic-now-disgraced former Skipper continued
to string together one failure after another, as that ever elusive blue
moon remained obscured behind stationary clouds. But to his credit, he did
contribute with the ball and helped Shakib Al Hasan, the stand-in
Skipper, find the â€œinner Captainâ€ of his own after Mashrafe Bin Mortazaâ€™s
unfortunate injury. Maybe he can become a specialist bowler over time,
but if Shahriar Nafees or Alok Kapali perform well in the near future, and
demonstrate the ability to learn from their own bungled opportunities,
either one can replace him with consistent performances. If all goes well,
each is capable of scoring at least 30+ with regularity with the
occasional 100 here and there. He gets an F for his batting and
an A for contributions on the field ... D-

Shakib Al Hasan: Looks like he is more than ready to be Captain
and captaincy will enhance his overall game. Caught by the other umpire (Tony Hill)
suffering from temporary Ashokanitis in the first, he prevented an
impending slide, and scored important runs in the second innings. His
departure was due to a shot he pretty much had to risk under those
circumstances. His bowling, field settings in the second innings, and
bowling changes were A+ in anybodyâ€™s book. This remarkable young
cricketer from Magura is a breed apart from everyone else before him
... A

Mushfiqur Rahim: Didn't blow opportunities behind the stumps
because those simply didn't present themselves that much to challenge his
suspect and noisy presence there. His range is still a big issue and bad
appeals irritating. An in-form Shaheen Hossain or Dhiman Ghosh may be a
better keeper than he is, but his courageous batting at clutch situations,
and the ability to repair damage are essential in tests and ODIs. Run
out by Mortaza in the first innings and being a tad too cautious in the
second, denied him the couple of scrappy test 50s he seemed destined to
get ... B-

Mahmudullah Riyad:Gets an F for his batting and A
for his match winning bowling, especially in the second innings. He was
brought into the team as a useful consolidator down the order but his
performance with the bat was anything but. Although Nayeem
Islam may be far better equipped with the bat, Mahmudullahâ€™s emergence as a
strike bowler keeps him in the Test team as far as I am concerned ... C+

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza: Did not impress with his pedestrian bowling
off the gates, and quick reversion to a cringe inducing, Habibul
Bashar-like one slip only defensive field setting -- but he started to bend
his back before re-aggravating that unfortunate knee injury. Until that
point in the match, he was getting a C for bowling, D for his short-lived
captaincy, but a solid A for his rescue in the first innings with the bat
... INCOMPLETE

Shahadat Hossain: Bowled better with his usual
"erraticisms" than we feared but not as well as we hoped. His
grunts at that semi-gentle pace are beyond laughable at this point. They
are embarrassing. If he cannot back his vocal cords up with visible
improvement soon, it will be a simple matter of time until he is replaced
by better bowlers like Talha Jubair, Shubhashish Roy or Suman Saha. Hossain gets a C for his bowling and B- for his
surprising and critical contribution with the bat in the first innings
... C+

Rubel Hossain: Is the real deal. Known to his adoring fans,
including this one, as Royal Bengal Express (RBX for short), he has
impressed the likes of Tony Cozier and Ian Bishop with his genuine pace
and aggression. This young man from Bagerhat in southern Bangladesh can swing it both ways and reverse. Still very early in his career, he has shown
himself to be a quick learner. Properly nurtured, this slinger
will get better faster than we anticipate and leave his predecessors in
the dust. Nattering nabobs of negativism, and fans of mediocrity over
talent will only be too happy to see him succeed. That said, I simply
don't get this disturbing resentment for those who have ability. The fact
is: talent, applied at its best can do what overachievers with limited
ability never can. Also the assumption that somehow talent equates underachievement
is total BS. There is the glaring example of Ashraful to point to, but one
should also look atÂ Al Hasan, Iqbal, and now RBX as better examples to
the contrary. Jinxes? Donâ€™t buy it ... B-for his first innings
spells after the former Skipper settled him down, and latter spells in the
second.

The
upcoming second and final test gives Bangladesh the rare opportunity to sweep a
series abroad. This group of West Indian batters have exposed their
vulnerability to quality slow bowling, and the insertion of quality SLA Enamul
Haque Jr. in place of the sidelined Mortaza should be a no-brainer irrespective of
pitch conditions.